A client called about her horse’s aloof behavior. I quickly assumed that the equine wanted to be alone and didn’t like exercise because it was her nature to be lazy and withdrawn.

We invent logical reasons to say why an animal acts the way s/he does; easier and more convenient than breathing deep beneath the surface of a glance.

But in going deeper with the horse, we felt her lonely heart, a heart diminished by a lack of acknowledgment of her true essence. She felt invalidated.

She bucked whenever anyone tried to mount her, not because she was lazy, but because she felt she was being treated as a mere riding object to be used. Her guardian who actually cares deeply about this horse’s well-being – hence our phone session – was not aware of this.

When her guardian and I energetically reached out to the horse with our hearts, the horse’s heart opened wide, and all three of us – the horse in her pasture, my client at home, and me on the phone miles away – basked for ten full minutes in the energy of absolute beauty emanating from this horse’s heart.

This morning, I got an email from my client saying that when she went out to the barn this morning, the equine, instead of keeping her usual distance, walked up to her for the first time with a look of love in her eyes, and a soft willingness to – for the first time as well – allow her guardian to wrap her arms around her neck and hug her.

Recognition and understanding of our true nature. Isn’t that what any animal, human or nonhuman wants…to feel fully alive and complete?